I find the current Muslim reaction to the Pope's comments to be rather ironic:

VOA News - West Bank Churches Attacked as Muslims Protest Pope's Remarks on Islam

Arab op-ed: Pope’s remarks may lead to war


As for the speech itself, it actually had only a very little to do with Islam. Perhaps it was ill-advised to quote such a harsh statement from the Byzantine emperor without a disclaimer (unless the Pope actually meant to whole-heartedly endorse the emperor's statement, but I don't get that sense at all from the text of the speech.)

In reading the speech, I am impressed with the Pope's ability to express himself in quite subtle academic terms. He was a professor for many years, I guess. I can also see why he could be surprised that Muslims are reacting so strongly - his point was that we should be able to have real dialogue between Christianity and Islam, as long as we accept reason as the starting point and set aside violence. I can see why he could be surprised, but unfortunately, I don't think he should have been surprised. After the cartoon riots a few months ago, quoting someone that said that Muhammed brought only evil into the world is bound to lead to trouble.

Still, it seems like there ought to be some more balanced voices in the hubub. Surely there must be Muslim scholars who understood the Pope's point and agreed, even though they would doubtless deplore the quotation. Perhaps the views of such scholars are not "newsworthy," however.